We
Can Still Be Friends
 Believing
that variety is one of God's great gifts to us, both in the world of nature
and in the world of people, it is a mystery to me that i can sometimes be so
insistent that others conform to my taste and way of doing things. Written to
no one in particular, this song is a suggestion that we learn to disagree without
being callously disagreeable. Even in those with whom we disagree strongly,
there is "common ground" that we can walk kindly along if we look hard enough
to find it.
In writing this song, i realize that some might misunderstand it as a call
to unprincipled compromise or misguided tolerance. i do think that, especially
when our differences are ones of mere taste or preference, we should be flexible
and yielding. But even when love for the sacred makes it impossible for us to
bend, scriptures teach us to hold our beliefs and convictions with 'gentleness
and respect' toward others.
 As
a Christian, i value the admonition that "he who walks with the wise grows wise,
but a companion of fools suffers harm," and understand that my Lord Jesus enjoins
me to be "in the world but not of" it. Discipleship to Jesus is a call to be
an alien, a stranger, a pilgrim to that system of values and that worldview
that does not embrace the reality and presence of God in the affairs of this
world. Christ's offer of "abundant life" is an invitation to walk in a narrow
way and a challenge to purify ourselves "from everything that contaminates body
and spirit." Obedience to these injunctions is not optional and i don't suggest
by this song that non-negotiables be sacrificed for an amoral unity or sense
of alliance.
But, in that same Lord Jesus, in the very fact that He took human flesh
to be friends with fallen and foolish people like myself, i sense a tenacious
intent to sacrifice His prerogatives and tastes to reach beings totally unlike
Himself. Instead of waiting until others could achieve His level of refinement
or knowledge or goodness or wisdom, "He went around doing good" to those with
Whom He had little in common, other than the frail humanity which rendered Him
thirsty and hungry, sleepy and weary with the weight of everyday existence,.
He found bridges to us, little mentioning the unlikeness of our lives to His,
to the end that His friendship with "sinners" might allow us to see Him as the
bridge to God. If i make my tastes and my perspective the criteria for who i
will care for and value in life, my circle of experience will be small and monochromatic,
and very unlike the Christ Who i am commanded to imitate (Eph. 5:1,2).
 You
can probably tell that recording this song was a delight to record. i put down
my tracks (guitars and vocals) and sent them to Ed Cash in Charlotte, who added
drums, bass, and keyboards (that old 'water to wine" trick at which he excels).
On New Years eve, Bebo Norman and Cindy Whitaker and i added some background
vocals in what is maybe one of the most unmusical but fun tracks of singing
ever recorded. (Cindy's laugh is the one you hear near the end of the song.
Now that's music!) Then Warren Bazemore (guitarist, singer, songwriter with
Siler's Bald), Kelly Roberts, Amie Champion and Rand Russell, Scott Allison,
and Robert Alston added their voices to the mix. And then, on April 3, 1999,
just after our annual Easter egg hunt at the farm, my Dad, Mom,  sisters
Beth and Linda, brother Gary, brothers in law Greg and Kevan, nieces and nephews
Caleb, Aron, Lindsey, Mary Katherine, Laurie, Michael, and David sang in a memorable
performance. They are pictured here. You can even hear nephew Jonathan crying
in the background if you listen closely. (Sister Laura and her Ballengee family
had to be elsewhere on the day we recorded or they'd be in here, too.) … i wish
you could have been there too.
You are after midnight, i am early morning
You are into fast cars, i like my walking shoes
You love the 12 lane city life, i like my two land town
That's what make s the world go round, we get to pick and choose
We've got these different points of view
But me and you well we can still be friends
i am into PBS, you're into HBO
i prefer to read the book, you watch the video
One of us is rock and roll, one is R and B
One of us is chardonnay, and one is sweet iced tea
We've got these different points of view
But me and you well we can still be friends
We've got these different perspectives
These tastes and points of view
But underneath it you're a lot like me
And i'm a lot like you
We both have a hunger in our hearts
That only Love can feed
Our hopes and fears look a lot alike
As do the things we need
We both hope that life is more than just
The game of who has more
There's something bigger than our bank accounts
That we are looking for
We've got these different points of view
But me and you well we can still be friends
We can still be friends …
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